The Hayabusas' Story
Long before I became Field Marshal Phooey, when I first joined the Imperial High Command as a junior General, I thought I knew everything. But I soon realized I knew nothing. I had a lot to learn and quickly too. But fate would have it that two senior High Commanders, Slayerr7 and HurriKane, took a shinning to this brash newcomer and showed him the ropes. The three of us formed a fast, enduring friendship. The Empire was in a very sorry state, to put it mildly. Our leaders, Katzumoto and Kenjii, were AWOL much of the time and the High Command was in disarray, without any rhyme, reason or structure. It issued contradictory and sometimes ridiculous orders which conflicted with the Empire's best interest or just common sense strategic principles. We had some good fighters who were poor strategists and leaders. We also had some alts from other factions, who deliberately helped send the Empire into chaos (we would later repay the favor...with interest!;). Only Slayerr and HK really seemed to appreciate the depth of the problem and what to do about it. Our beloved Empire had become a doormat! So the three of us formed a voting block on the HC, focused our fighting accordingly and basically went Ronin on the leadership and the rest of the HC. Through our examples on the battlefield we inspired many, loyal warriors to follow us, most notably Nonoy Aquino. Brother HurriKane and I also stood up for the Empire in World Leader Chat, earning us reputations as ornery warmongers...roles we would come to embrace. When SimCC became leader, things began to slowly change, and our terrible trio would have a bigger hand in shaping policy and strategy. Once during this period, Lord Jubaka, our chief diplomat, a wise and honorable Shogun, wanted to negotiate a truce with one of the Empire's enemies (I forget which..we had a lot back then). We agreed with him that this was a sound strategy, but insisted that we must not make too many concessions. Lord Jubaka laughed and said-"Phooey and the hawks have spoken!" I laughed and responded-"We are the HAYABUSAS, watching over the Empire and swooping down upon its enemies!". And so our troika had a name. When SimCC stepped down, I managed to convince our friend, Tsukahara, Second in Command of the Eastern battlegroup, to step up to replace him. He reluctantly agreed, but didn't really want to be leader, especially given the circumstances. SimCC made the grave strategic error of going to war with both the LJ and the AW at the same time. He thought it would make us stronger and improve the SE's reputation. It didn't and we paid a heavy price, resulting in Sir Tsuk, as we affectionately called him, inheriting a real mess. But with teamwork, dedication and some deft diplomacy we managed to work our way out of the morass. The three Hayabusas played an important role in all this, on and off the battlefield. As Sir Tsuk's second term neared its end, things were finally stabilized. Then, suddenly, this brash newcomer, Masaharta, shows up and begins to seriously challenge Sir Tsuk for the leadership. Rumor even had it that this usurper was really an agent of the foul, barbarian Yangs from the UR! We three Hayabusas instantly, and deeply opposed him and stood by our old chief with whom we had fought many campaigns. The election was very close...I publicly demanded, in faction chat, that for the good of our Empire, Masaharta stand down! He, of course, refused. I told my Hayabusa Brothers that I feared the outcome of our election more than of any battle. And sure enough, the worst came to pass and the brash usurper (barely) won. But the three Hayabusas had discussed this possibility in advance, and decided that he would have our swords at his service for one week. After that, if he did not work out or showed any signs of disloyalty to His Imperial Majesty, we would go Ronin on his ass and encourage our fellow Dragon Warriors to go likewise. But to our pleasant surprise, this newcomer embraced our advice, our mindset, our way of war, learned very quickly and turned out to be one of the greatest leaders the Shogunate Empire and the game had ever known. Together with the three Hayabusas, we formed the nucleus of what would become the Imperial Council. Where we would be joined, eventually, by other great, legendary Shogun Warriors, who would help us watch over the Empire, swoop down upon its enemies, and secure its ultimate triumph. BANZAI!